Lobos Hockey goes nuclear, sweeps outdoor weekend in Los Alamos

LOS ALAMOS — In a weekend in the Atomic City, the Lobos went nuclear. 

A part of the Los Alamos Outdoor Shootout at the Los Alamos County Rink, the UNM men’s club hockey team dominated the weekend with a three-game sweep of the field.

New Mexico took down California State Northridge, UCLA and SMU over the course of the three-day run up in the wilderness, running wild and outscoring their opponents 20-4.

“I thought we played really well as a team for all three games, and everyone contributed,” Lobos goaltender Kameron Remde said. “I thought that we played some of our best hockey this weekend, and I think the scores show that.”

UNM posted some crooked numbers, including a 9-1 runaway over the CSUN Matadors and an 8-1 victory against the UCLA Bruins. The Lobos’ lone sweat was against the Mustangs, squeezing out a 3-2 victory.

Issa Murakami was the difference maker in the Sunday matinee against SMU, netting two goals to diminish the ‘Stangs' third-period push.

In the other two contests, it was a party on the stat sheet. Seven different Lobos scored against the Bruins, with more of the same in the Matador melee. 

On the defensive end, the Lobos were equally as impressive, allowing no more than two goals in each contest. Remde paired up with fellow goalie Max McKiernan to both post one-goal outings on Friday and Saturday.

“Max played really well Friday and Sunday, and I thought I played a great game Saturday night,” Remde said. “Our defense, offense and goaltending were on point all weekend.”

While this past weekend may be the best performance the Lobos have put together in their yearly appearance at Los Alamos, this has even more implications on the bigger picture of the season.

UNM now sits at 15-4-1, picking up key wins over conference foes UCLA and CSUN. Now with 43 points in the standings, the only team across the 40-marker, the Lobos are creating quite the cushion for themselves in first place as playoffs creep closer.

Whether or not the Lobos can carry this type of performance back to the MAC, or replicate it on their upcoming road trip to Arizona, remains to be seen. But either way, it was a big weekend to defend home ice.

“Overall, it was a great weekend,” Remde said. “It’s always a pleasure to play in Los Alamos, my hometown.”

UNM will now travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, for another in-conference meeting with the NAU Lumberjacks.